Panasonic Lumix TZ5 with WiFi

published : Friday, April 18, 2008 | model : PANASONIC Lumix DMC-TZ5

Theme : Digital Photography | Compact digital camera

Panasonic launched the LUMIX DMC-TZ50. Complete with Wi-Fi capabilities, standard 802.11b/g wireless LAN connectivity and access to T-Mobile HotSpot service, users can upload digital photos taken with the TZ50 directly to Picasa Web Albums, the free online photo-sharing service from Google. The 9.1 megapixel TZ50 is packed with a 28mm wide-angle lens, 10x optical zoom and the ability to record HD video.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 Camcorder

Crutchfield

349.99 $

Abe's Of Maine

289.95 $

Profeel

289.95 $

ButterflyPhoto

299.90 $

Circuit City

309.99 $

Panasonic uses the T-Mobile Hotspot service and Picasa Web Albums' APIs to create a new online environment and community for sharing digital photos. After taking photos with the new Panasonic LUMIX TZ50, users will be able to wirelessly send one or even multiple photos at a time, directly to Google's Picasa Web Albums. Users can connect to standard wireless home networks. In addition the TZ50 can also connect to the T-Mobile HotSpot Service, which provides fast and reliable Wi-Fi Internet access at more than 8,800 public locations throughout the United States, including Borders Books & Music stores, Hyatt Hotels and many major airports. The LUMIX TZ50 comes with an offer of 12-months complimentary T-Mobile HotSpot W-FI service.

Users can simply register one email account with their TZ50, so after uploading their photos to Picasa Web Albums, they can have the URL to that album sent to the registered account. Since many cell phones and smartphones receive emails, users can register their own email address and then forward that Picasa Web Album's URL to friends and family, without using a computer. In addition, users can browse their albums to confirm that photos have been successfully uploaded, and choose to delete uploaded photos directly on the digital camera.

The TZ50 is the latest member of the LUMIX TZ-Serie. It embeds a 28mm wide-angle 10x optical zoom Leica DC lens (equivalent to 28-280mm on a 35mm film camera) into a compact body. Notably, the new TZ50 integrates the capability of recording 720p HD (high-definition) motion pictures together with its direct output function allowing users to enjoy watching both still and motion pictures in impressive HD quality on a HDTV via an optional component cable.

The Panasonic LUMIX TZ50 also incorporates Panasonic's Intelligent Auto (iA) mode consisting of seven intuitive technologies, all which are specifically designed to help make photo-taking as easy as it can be. When in Advanced Intelligent Auto mode, the following technologies all operate automatically; the user does not need to change any settings: - Intelligent Exposure : The TZ50 analyses the framed image and adjusts the brightness in areas that are too dark because of dim lighting, backlighting, or the use of the flash. The camera will automatically adjust the brightness accordingly. - Digital Red-eye Correction : Helps eliminate the red-eye problem that sometimes results when taking flash shots at night. Incorporated into the built-in flash, the camera emits a small preliminary flash before the main flash which detects red-eye and digitally corrects it. - MEGA O.I.S. : Gyrosensors detect hand-shake and the lens system shifts to compensate, helping to prevent blurry images. - Intelligent ISO : Determines if the photo subject is moving and changes the ISO setting and shutter speed accordingly. - Intelligent Scene Selector : Senses the ambient conditions, recognizes the shooting environment and will automatically select the appropriate scene mode from: Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait or Night Scenery mode. This intuitive technology helps the consumer use the most common scene modes that are built into the camera, but often go unused, without making any manual adjustments. - Face Detection : Detects faces anywhere in the frame and automatically chooses the focus and exposure settings. Detecting up to 15 faces, Panasonic's Face Detection can track a face if the subject is moving. - Continuous AF : The Continuous AF (auto focus) system maintains focus on the subject even without pressing a shutter button halfway, thus minimizing the AF time.

Once the user is in iA mode, these multi-capable functions happen automatically, no adjustments or changes to setting need to be made. Furthermore, the DMC-TZ50 boasts Intelligent LCD function, which detects the lighting condition and controls the brightness level of the LCD in 11 fine steps, to offer a display with excellent clarity in any situation with the newly developed 460,000-dot high resolution in 3.0-inch LCD screen.

The TZ50 incorporates the Venus Engine IV, Panasonic's new high-performance image processing LSI. The Venus Engine IV produces better pictures than its predecessor, the Venus Engine III, by using a more advanced signal processing system. The new Venus Engine IV also improves noise reduction, elevates the detection accuracy and corrective effects in both MEGA O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO and reduces the shutter release time lag.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ50 will be available in silver in May 2008 for a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $449.95.